Carlo Campbell as Othello leaning into Nastassja Baset as Desdemona with Walter DeShields as Cassio, Theatre in the X. Photo by Tieshka Smith.

Theatre in the X is an Artists Collective, founded by LaNeshe Miller-White, Carlo Campbell, and Walter DeShields, providing African American theater artists in Philadelphia with acting and directing opportunities and offering free and accessible theater to the community. It is part of the City of Philadelphia’s Performances in Public Spaces program, managed by the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, and is supported by the Leeway Foundation’s Art and Change grants. Theatre in the X tries to reach new audiences by taking Shakespeare right into neighborhoods that some Philadelphians call “the hood.” The first productions took place in 2013 with Amiri Baraka’s A Black Mass, and Nilaja Sun’s No Child. OTHELLO is this year’s major offering. All performances take place in Malcolm X Park.

Malcolm X Park

Eger: This summer, Philadelphia lucked out with many Shakespeare productions in various parks. What sets Theatre in the X apart from other companies that produce Shakespeare?

Jones: Our production is being done in a black neighborhood. Racist news outlets would say that such a production would be impossible. But like most such assertions and ideologies, they are exposed in the face of reality. And the reality is: The community is coming out in great numbers and loving it.

Malcolm X in Philly, tracked by the FBI

Eger: Malcolm X lived in North Philly in 1954 for three months. He tried to expand the Nation of Islam Temple. “The FBI was tracking his movements at the time, according to Hidden City Philadelphia. He did return to the temple several times and made his last appearance here during a rally in 1963.” I take it that Theatre in the X with its productions in Malcolm X Park pays homage to a revolutionary American.

Jones: In cities with large black communities, especially with great poverty, parks are often named after Malcolm X or Martin Luther King, Jr. Malcolm X did spend time in Philadelphia at a mosque on South Street. That’s where he saw a lot of guys in the mosque who were not really following the faith but were criminals. He knew they were killers. And like Jesus who threw out the money changers from the temple, Malcolm X tried to throw the criminals out of the mosque. He got into an argument with the elder Elijah Muhammad over that issue, and eventually, the charismatic young firebrand got assassinated by members of the Nation of Islam.

Theatre in the X

Eger: What are the goals of Theatre in the X?

Jones: The intention of all involved with Theater in the X is to bring smart, challenging, interesting, and passionate theater to the people: Theater that does not insult the intellect, culture, or community. Theater that is for free. Theater that is for all. The goal for the future is to do that more and more often.

We are building a community. The whole idea is to reach a wide audience through theater, something that the community is actually looking forward to with many more productions in the future.

Working class audiences, listening to Elizabethan English

Eger: Producing Shakespeare can be quite a risky affair as many people have trouble with Elizabethan English. What did you do to make this three-hour production, without intermission, accessible to your predominantly non-traditional audiences?

Jones: I’m trying to make my work more and more like a cave painting and get rid of all pretense. Nothing is hidden from the audience. That was important to me. I didn’t want to go into a poor community and change the words. I changed nothing. They heard the same Shakespeare they would hear if they were to go to the National Theatre in London.

Getting OTHELLO and love in “the hood”

Eger: Theatre in the X is performing on 52nd street, in an area that has been called “the ghetto high crime section of Philadelphia.” In response to the question whether one should buy a house in that area, a number of readers made these comments, “You are crazy for wanting to move there,” or, “Not exactly the hood when you see yuppies eating brunch at sidewalk tables. Things are changing, but it’s still spotty,” and, “Above-average street wisdom may be useful.”

Jones: I partially grew up around 52nd, and that neighborhood is filled with my family. If you are in any “hood,” you get what you are looking for. If any of the readers go up there looking for drugs, stolen property deals, etc., that’s what they will get.

However, if they go up there to live, eat, drink, chill, build with the community, and watch a play in the park, that’s what they will get—they will get nothing but love. My suggestion would be for everyone to turn off the television and get the EL to 52nd Street, get a grub, watch the play, and relax.

Eger: So everybody could go and see your all-black OTHELLO in Malcolm X Park.

Jones: Yes. What sets Theatre in the X apart is that Malcolm X Park is in one of the coolest, historically relevant sections of Philadelphia. 52nd street is the ultimate. It’s fantastic: Great theater in a fabulous place. Everybody should come.